Week 2: What we learned from high school football in South Sound
Week two of the high school football season is in the books. It was a strange week, with five games across the South Sound canceled due to positive covid test results. But there was still plenty of football played throughout the week. Here’s what we learned from week two of the season.
THIS SEASON, IT PAYS TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH SCHEDULING
Puyallup was originally supposed to play rival Rogers in a 4A SPSL matchup, and Lakes was supposed to play Stadium in the 3A PCL. But Rogers and Stadium’s COVID-19 issues forced cancellation of both games. Once there was an opening with the programs, both Puyallup and Lakes athletic directors jumped on the chance to play each other.
It came together on Tuesday, leaving both programs with a short window to scout and gameplan. But no one seemed to mind.
“It was actually pretty calm,” Puyallup coach Gary Jeffers said of the week of practice. “They adjusted well. I think they were so excited just to get a game. Our kids are just so happy to play.”
Puyallup beat Lakes, 44-16 on Saturday at Sparks Stadium, riding a strong second half to the win. Jeffers, who coached previously at Washington High School, faced Lakes and Dave Miller from 1997 to 2003. Saturday’s game marked the first time he beat Miller head-to-head, he said.
Being flexible with scheduling will be a must for high school athletics programs across all sports for the remainder of the school year. One positive test result can be enough to shut a program down for two weeks, so programs will have to adjust on the fly.
PUYALLUP IS A COMPLETE TEAM
Speaking of the Vikings, no team has been more impressive in the first two weeks. Puyallup has won its two games by an average margin of 28 points, beating Bethel 46-18 and winning against Lakes, 44-16. This is a complete team.
The offensive and defensive lines are among the best units in the state. Senior quarterback Luke Holcomb looks comfortable in the pocket and is finding open receivers for chunk passing plays. Running back Ziere Ford — a 5-foot-7, 200-pound back — ran for 172 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, after racking up five touchdowns in week one against Bethel.
“He’s a hard guy to tackle,” Jeffers said. “He’s a little bowling ball, he keeps his legs churning.”
Holcomb completed 15 of 21 passes for 213 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Jordan Dwyer caught seven passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Angel Sanchez caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. And Jaylan King caught a 32-yard touchdown pass.
“All glory goes to the coaches, to the o-linemen,” Holcomb said. “They’re doing a great job. They’re making great plays and we’re just executing all around. When we’re executing and on point, balance happens.”
And on the defensive line, 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior Central Washington signee Sermon Wilson was living in the Lakes’ backfield on Saturday.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of just second nature now. I got that motor, got that hunger. I love this game, this is all I do. … Our line starts it off for both sides. We have a big, strong offensive line and big, strong defensive line. That’s where this game is won, down in the trenches.”
Jeffers is used to seeing these types of performances from his senior.
“He’s a pretty high IQ football player,” Jeffers said. “He watches film, he knows what’s going on. He knows what’s happening down and distance, knows what he’s facing in his opponent. And he’s particularly quick for a guy on the defensive line. He’s 225 pounds but he’s lean, fast.”
The 28-point average margin of victory through two weeks against quality competition might be surprising to some, but not to Holcomb.
“People tend to continue to underestimate us sometimes,” Holcomb said. “We love proving people wrong. That’s all I can say.”
NO EGBUKA, NO PROBLEM FOR STEILACOOM
Steilacoom won a defensive battle against 2A SPSL newcomer Enumclaw on Saturday afternoon, 14-7. It was a game many felt would determine the league champion.
Steilacoom is returning much of the roster that won an undefeated 2A SPSL championship and stomped three opponents in the playoffs before eventually losing to state powerhouse Tumwater in the 2019 title game.
They play like a program that’s won big games — and this early-season meeting with the Hornets might be the biggest test the Sentinels will face before their scheduled rematch with Tumwater to end the season.
“They’re as good as anybody we played last year,” Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson said. “That was a lot of fun to have such a good opponent to face out of the gates. They’ve got all kinds of firepower over there.”
Enumclaw joined the 2A SPSL after playing and contending for the past four seasons in the 4A SPSL. Steilacoom coach Colby Davies said this early-season matchup felt like a playoff game.
“I would say this game felt a lot like a quarterfinal or semifinal game,” Davies said. “I think they’re the type of team that would advance deep into the playoffs, and I feel like we’re the type of team that would advance deep.”
Emeka Egbuka, a five-star recruit who was on pace to become the state’s all-time leading receiver in career yards during his senior year, opted to enroll early at Ohio State and forgo his senior season this winter for the Sentinels.
Perhaps the most dynamic play-maker in the state last season — Egbuka is the reigning Associated Press state player of the year, Washington’s 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year and reigning TNT All-Area player of the year — his absence is notable in all three phases for Steilacoom.
But, the Sentinels do still have plenty of firepower on offense.
Western Kentucky signee Chance McDonald is still slinging the football downfield, and finished Saturday’s win 22-of-38 passing for 329 yards, and tossed two touchdowns of 5 and 28 yards to Horner and Brady while throwing one interception and losing a fumble.
Eighteen of McDonald’s completions were for more than 10 yards, and he connected with five different receivers.
“We’ve got a couple new plays, formations that are really helping us out to spread the ball around,” McDonald said. “It’s a hard adjustment to lose a guy like (Egbuka), but we’ve got talent around us.”
Logan Brady, a Central Washington signee, finished with a game-high 172 receiving yards on 10 catches, while Tre Horner, an Air Force signee, hauled in seven passes for 120 yards.
OLYMPIA’S MULLEN WINS AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM
Olympia defeated Timberline in a 3A SSC matchup on Friday night at Ingersoll Stadium in overtime, 21-14.
Nick Mullen is in his first season coaching Olympia, after spending the past 13 years as the Timberline coach. James Jones, who took over as the Blazers’ coach, worked as an assistant for Mullen formerly. So there was a friendly rivalry between the two. And Mullen got the best of his counterpart this time around.
“Those are a lot of my guys, still,” Mullen said. “I got close with a lot of the Polynesian families, they brought me in. You always want to compete hard against your buddies. And of course I want to win. I hate to lose more than I like to win. So the whole week, I was trying to tell myself it’s just another game. But the kids knew. I think they wanted to get this one, too. I think they needed it just in general. They’ve been missing football.
“This is a huge win and Timberline’s a good program. I know those guys, the coaches. Coach Jones and I still talk almost every day, just because we’re such good friends. It feels good.”
Olympia has some electric playmakers who can make defenders miss in space. Quarterback Gabe Downing completed 24 of 48 passes for 398 yards, a touchdown and threw three interceptions. Mason Juergens caught eight passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Alfredo Ramirez-Cortes caught nine passes for 154 yards and had two touchdowns called back.
“They’re so athletic, so tough,” Downing said of his receivers. “They’re just playmakers.”
Mullen knows how electric Ramirez-Cortes can be, too.
“Alfredo is so dynamic in space,” Mullen said. “You don’t think he’s that fast until he hits that other gear. He just goes. He’s very deceptively fast. They’re just a great group. We just want the ball in our playmakers’ hands, because Gabe is like a point guard. He just knows where to distribute it.”
The Bears haven’t been a factor in the 4A SPSL as of late. Although Olympia is playing in the 3A SSC as a temporary member this school year, Mullen is hoping to turn Olympia into a contender.
The players have taken notice.
“Mainly toughness,” Downing said of the culture change. “He just wants us to be tough, play hard, play faster and be more physical.”
THE 4A SPSL IS WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS
We felt before the season that Graham-Kapowsin, Puyallup, Peninsula and Sumner were the top four teams in the league. Exactly how those four teams fare in head-to-head matchups will be fascinating to watch in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, they won’t all get to face each other, because of the shortened season.
Graham-Kapowsin was idle this week. The Eagles were supposed to play Gig Harbor, but the game was canceled because of a covid issue in the Gig Harbor program. Puyallup won convincingly over Lakes. Sumner hammered Emerald Ridge, 46-0 on Thursday night at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Peyton Wing rushed for 96 yards and scored four touchdowns in the win. And Peninsula beat Bethel, 33-20 at Roy Anderson Field on Thursday.
Peninsula scored three touchdowns in the final six minutes of the first half to push past Bethel. Landon Sims went in for a 5-yard run with 5:48 to go in the half, giving Peninsula a 13-0 lead.
Bethel responded with a drive of its own to cut the margin to 13-7 with 3:20 to go. But on the very next play, Jake Bice found Chris Akulschin for a 62-yard touchdown pass and a 19-7 advantage.
Peninsula’s defense then came up with an interception, leading to a 1-yard scoring run by Sean Skladany with just seven seconds left in the half and the Seahawks took a 26-7 lead into the locker room for the break.
“Our second level, it just wasn’t there until halftime,” Sims said. “We came out in the second half just firing. Coach had a real nice speech at halftime. He told us about Gig Harbor, who just had a Covid issue and is done for two weeks. We took that to heart. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.”
Puyallup plays Sumner next week. Graham-Kapowsin plays Puyallup in week four, in what we think will be the De facto league championship game. Peninsula plays Graham-Kapowsin in week five and Graham-Kapowsin plays Sumner in week six.
Lauren Smith and Doug Drowley contributed to this story.
